Casino El Camino

517 E 6th St
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 469-9330
www.casinoelcamino.net

Casino El Camino has been on my list since LAST YEAR, ever since the boyfriend sang it praises and my learning that it was featured by Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. I’m telling you, there’s just so many places to eat and not enough time. Saturday afternoon, Alan called to make dinner plans and I told him, “I’m hungry now! Lunch?” So he’s thinking we’ll go to our usual nearby haunts (North Austin) but I was scheming. “How about a burger place… Downtown… Casino el Camino?”

“Oh so you want a journey.”

A wee dramatic, but yes, I wanted a journey. We journeyed downtown and he introduced me to the famed Casino el Camino. We got there between 3pm and 4pm which is a lovely time. You want to miss out on the rush (drunken hours from bar hoppers and meal hours), the wait can be notoriously long (1hour-2hour waits). We ordered two burgers to split and an order of their popular verde chilli fries and the wait was less than 20 minutes. To order, don’t sit and wait for the cocktail waitress, she’s just for drinks. Go straight to the back near the restrooms to the kitchen window and place burger orders there with the cooks. Cooks are laid back and friendly. Notice the tip jar at the cook’s window and give a little love to the cooks.

The bar’s decor is reminiscent of an old school horror movie set. Dark with gargoyles. Being as dark as it is inside, it’s difficult to snap some food porn.

Poorly Lit Food Porn

Famed Verde Chilli Fries $5.75 (see video clip below at the 4:30-5:30 mark; it gets its own full minute tribute and you’ll get a better view)

I like to keep a mental list of my “best ever” food list. Eventually I’ll publish it on the blog but Casino El Camino’s Verde Chilli Fries is now on my list under “Best Cheese Fries of My Life” Most often the cheese in chilli fries hardens which I didn’t find a bad thing, til I had these fries. Liquidy, smooth, not watery, cheese. Come on, now. Throw in their own tomatillo verde salsa and it’s the BEST cheese fries I’ve ever had. That’s a bold statement I’m making there. Again, to see a clip of these fries see the 4:30-5:30 mark on the attached video clip.

Left: Chicago Burger ($7.50) Right: The Pitts Burger ($7.50)
Chicago:Bacon, Romaine lettuce, tomato and cheddar cheese
Pitts: Sautéed mushrooms and onions, provolone cheese and zesty A-1 sauce

Look at the thickness of the meat patties! Each patty weighs in at 3/4 lb. We asked for them to be cooked medium. I read that if you don’t specify it’ll come out medium well and or well done. Medium folks. If you’re going to do a burger, why not do it right? The meat was delicious, well seasoned and very very juicy. Each bite was good and beefy. The sautéed mushrooms and onions on the Pitts with the A-1 sauce gave the burger a sweet tang. The bacon on the Chicago was an awesome bonus to the main attraction (BEEF). While, I don’t recommend coming it here too often (it can’t be good for the figure unless you’re body building), it is definitely worth the monthly visit. Maybe bimonthly even.

See Casino El Camino as featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.